Auld Lang Syne
by Estrelle Buscador
Summary: It's New Year's Eve, and Téa's busy living out her dream in New York. She wasn't expecting a special time, but her boyfriend has a big surprise in mind for her. After series, one-shot.


Greetings Readers! This is just a short one-shot I wrote for New Year's, and it takes place after the series has concluded and the friends have all finished school. The setting is New York, where Téa is performing on Broadway. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters, which is probably obvious.

* * *

The curtain closed in front of her, its red velvety folds swaying with the force that the stagehands had closed them, and she followed the rest of the cast back to the dressing rooms, barely fighting the urge to shriek with excitement. Even after two years in show business, she still had the reaction to act like a complete rookie when she realized that she'd been in another Broadway performance. But then, that proved to her that she still enjoyed her job – the real reason that she'd moved to New York in the first place – and she knew that the day she no longer had that impulse would probably be the day she'd stop performing. If it stopped being her dream to perform here, then it would be time to step down so another girl could have a shot at achieving her dream.

Téa Gardner arrived at the dressing room she shared with two other actresses and quickly sat down at her mirror to begin the laborious process of removing her stage makeup and costume. The other two girls soon came in, excitedly chattering about some of the fans who had made it backstage and apparently had tried some very romantic ways to get the girls' attention. Téa smiled and laughed at the appropriate times, but only half of her mind was paying attention, the other half focused on getting out of her cumbersome costume. Besides, she smiled to herself, there was only one guy for her.

Time was a strange thing – although it seemed like only yesterday since she had gotten her first part in a Broadway play, it felt like an eternity since she'd left Japan, and her friends, and her boyfriend. She flew back home whenever she could and thoroughly enjoyed her life in New York, but she still missed them greatly. Regular phone calls and web chatting was nice, but just wasn't the same as being with her friends – and as corny as it sounded, she missed the warmth of her boyfriend's arms.

Except for her, no one of the old crowd had gone far from Domino: Joey had chosen to go into business with Grandpa, and Mai had gone into modeling locally so she could stay near Joey. Tristan had gone into teaching gym classes at the local high school and had begun dating Serenity with Joey's grudging permission. Even Duke, who they'd all figured would go traveling the world to market Duel Monsters, had ended up deciding to stay with the game shop across the street from Grandpa's and was having a great time antagonizing Joey. Some things never changed.

And Yugi had gone into archaeology like his grandpa and was back home between expeditions when she called him last. Yugi had stayed much the same over the years – calm, collected, and absolutely humble. Even through all his daring expeditions once he'd graduated from college, he didn't get egotistical or cocky about his successes, but that came as no surprise to his friends. And it was one of the things she loved about him.

Pulling off her costume and pulling on a tank top and sweat pants, Téa settled back in front of the mirror and pulled her black braided wig off her head. As she began washing her makeup off, her mind wandered to her boyfriend. When Téa had been accepted into the dance program that eventually led to the successful auditions, the chorus roles, and now the supporting Broadway roles, Yugi had offered to move with her to New York. She had gently dissuaded him, however, since she knew that he loved Domino and wouldn't want to be far from it for too long. Instead, they'd had to settle for long-distance correspondence and the trips home Téa would take between different shows.

_Only a few more weeks, _she reminded herself, _and then we'll be done, and I can go back home_.

There came a knock on the dressing room door, and Melissa, one of Téa's roommates, stopped giggling and went to answer it. She smiled at the newcomer and then leaned back into the room. "Hey Téa, I think you have an admirer who wants to see you."

Téa groaned. As much as she liked hearing that people enjoying her performances, most of the people who made their way to the dressing rooms were a little…off. "If it's Mr. Hyle, could you tell him I'm not feeling well?" Mr. Hyle was one of the worst offenders, seeming far too lecherous towards a woman several decades his junior.

Jacqueline, the other girl who shared the dressing room, looked over at the admirer and giggled. "Téa, honey, I think you really need to see this one."

"_Hello, Téa,"_ A young male voice said from the doorway, and Téa jerked her head towards the doorway. Sure enough, it was –

"_Yugi!"_ She squealed in delighted surprise as she ran to the doorway and into her boyfriend's arms. "_I didn't know you were coming!_"

Yugi smiled at her and hugged her tightly, not wanting to let go, "_Well, if you knew then it wouldn't be a surprise, now, would it?"_

Téa rolled her eyes good-naturedly and kissed his cheek. "_I guess not…_" She looked at him curiously, "_When did you get here?_"

"_Early this morning,_" he said, "_we got back from the expedition to Cairo earlier than I expected, so I thought I'd come and see you perform before you headed back to Domino._" He pulled out a bouquet of daisies and gave them to her with a sheepish grin. "_You were great tonight – I'm sorry that I couldn't find better flowers._"

"_Are you kidding?_" Téa exclaimed, pulling the flowers to her and kissing him, "_They're wonderful! Thank you, Yugi."_

The entire exchange had been in their native Japanese, so the actual words were lost on Téa's two American fellow cast members, but both knew what the flowers and following kiss meant. "So this is the boyfriend we've heard so much about?" Melissa inched an eyebrow and smirked appreciatively.

"Ooh, Téa," Jacqueline squealed, "he's even cuter than you said!"

Melissa elbowed her none-too-gracefully. "Jacqueline," she hissed, "couldn't you be more subtle?"

"But he doesn't understand English!" Jacqueline defended, "So it's okay."

Téa felt a hand on her shoulder. "_So, I don't speak English, huh?_"

"_I never said anything like that. Should I tell them?_"

Yugi grinned sneakily. "_Not yet. Let me meet them._"

Téa rolled her eyes; her boyfriend was up to his usual games. _"Fine._ _This is Jacqueline, and this is Melissa._"

Yugi extended his hand to the two girls, and smiled. "_It's a pleasure to meet you_."

Both girls looked at Téa for translation. "He says it's nice to meet you."

"Oh," Jacqueline reached out to grasp his hand, "hi. Oh, Téa," she exclaimed as she looked at his tanned arm, "he's really muscular – does he work out?"

"Calm down," Melissa said as she gently detached Jacqueline from Yugi and extended her own hand. "Good to meet you."

Yugi politely nodded his head, and Melissa inadvertently squeaked before turning back to Téa conspiratorially. "That smile's so dreamy…does he have a brother?"

Téa snuck a glance at her boyfriend and smirked. Although he was doing an admirable job of keeping his face politely blank, his eyes were burning. He seemed to be embarrassed by the praise.

Yugi had changed a lot since they had said goodbye to the Pharaoh. He'd gone through a growth spurt that made him barely taller than her, and he'd lost a lot of the baby fat from his face. Téa had always thought he was cute, but she had to admit that her friends had a point. Yugi's continued work in Egypt had led to tanned, tightly muscular limbs, and his amethyst eyes had become somewhat narrower without losing any of their optimism and confidence. But a lot of him hadn't changed, too – he still cared deeply about others, loved playing games, and was painfully modest, which meant she'd better pull him away from her friends before his ears burned off.

"_There's a small sitting room near the lobby, if you'd like to wait for me there._" She said, _"I shouldn't be too much longer._" Yugi nodded gratefully and kissed her before walking to the door.

"Where is he going?" Jacqueline asked almost petulantly.

"I told him we were about to finish getting dressed, so he's going to wait outside."

Melissa arched an eyebrow, "Why? Doesn't he want to watch?"

Yugi stiffened almost imperceptibly in his path to the door and Téa watched his ears turn an impossibly dark shade of scarlet before he closed the door behind him.

**···**

Out in the cold New York weather, away from Téa's cast mates, Téa burst into loud peals of laughter. Her boyfriend glared playfully at her. "Some girlfriend, laughing at her boyfriend's embarrassment."

Unknown to Téa's friends, Yugi, like Téa, spoke fluent English, and they lapsed into the language as they walked hand-in-hand down the snowy street to Téa's apartment.

"I'm sorry, Yugi, but you got yourself into that mess." Téa laughed, "Besides, it'll do you good to hear some compliments you can't try to ignore."

Yugi shrugged nonchalantly, but a line of red that had nothing to do with the cold spread across his nose. "I don't know about that…"

"I do." Téa squeezed his hand and leaned against him as they continued on their way. "I've missed you, Yugi."

He let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "I missed you too – I'm sorry I haven't come as much as I should have."

"That's okay," Téa sighed contentedly, "I'm just glad you're here."

They walked into her building and up the stairs to her apartment. Téa switched on the lights and instantly flushed to the roots of her hair. She could have sworn that she'd cleaned up this morning…

Yugi laughed, a deep rich chuckle that matched his recently much deeper voice, and walked past her into the apartment. "Téa, have you ever seen my workroom? This looks fine." It was just spooky how easily he could read her most of the time.

Téa hung her keys on a hook beside the door and pointed towards the hall closet. "Go ahead and put your bags in there – I'm afraid I only have the pull-out couch bed, but you're welcome to that."

Yugi looked surprised. "I was planning to stay at a hotel – I don't want to kick you out of your own bed."

Téa bit her lip to keep from laughing. _Ever the gentleman_. "You were planning to find a hotel in New York on New Year's Eve? I don't think so, you're staying here. I have a bed anyway."

"Okay, but as long as you get the bed." Yugi thought over what she'd said. "Is New Year's that big around here?" The gang would usually just get together to hang out and play Duel Monsters through midnight on New Year's Eve – it wasn't a huge deal for them.

"It's New York and Times Square – New Year's is a pretty big deal." Téa said, and then smacked her forehead. "Oh no, I forgot about Melissa's party tonight – she asked if you were coming tonight too and I said yes without thinking." She glanced apologetically at Yugi. "I'm sorry…you don't have to go."

"Why not? Sounds like it could be fun." Yugi grinned back, and then had to cover a massive yawn. "Sorry, jet lag's being a killer – I might need to catch some sleep before we go."

"Of course," Téa replied, but then her eyes widened, "You took a plane to get here?"

It was a common joke between Téa, Tristan, and Joey that Yugi, for all of his adventures, was still terrified of flying. Even though he traveled a lot, he usually went on expeditions that required boat travel when transporting artifacts or on vacations where he could drive there. Even the few times he'd been able to see her in America, he'd arranged for sea travel to get there.

"Yup," Yugi said matter-of-factly, stifling another yawn with his hand.

"But – but you haven't been on a plane since we went to the Pharaoh's tomb!" It was a sign of real progress that the mention of that trip didn't make either of them wince – it had been hard to say goodbye to their friend.

"Well, like then, now's worth it because I did it for someone I care about." Yugi gave her another one of his warm smiles that made her legs go weak. She walked over to him and hugged him tightly.

"Well, you're free to use my bed," she said, "I'll be making some noise in here baking for the party. Would you like some hot chocolate before you go to sleep?"

"Please," Yugi said as he followed her into the kitchen and sat on a stool at the breakfast bar, "it's been so long since I actually wanted to drink something hot."

"Cairo was pretty hot then?" Téa asked as she pulled out milk from the refrigerator.

"As always…and the tomb I got stuck in for a few days wasn't very cool either."

Téa whipped around. "You got stuck in a TOMB?"

"Yes," Yugi shrugged, "you'd think those guys would put in some extra doors to get out." Téa shook her head at his casual tone, but said nothing. He spoke up, "So are you excited about this party?"

"More now that you're here," Téa said, "before that I was just dragged into helping Jacqueline corner one of the guys in the chorus at midnight so that he'd have to kiss her."

"You kiss at midnight?" Yugi asked.

"Yup, it's supposed to be a good omen or something if you kiss your loved one at midnight." Téa shrugged, "All I know is, it's a good thing he likes her back…"

As Téa continued describing the friends who'd be at the party that night, Yugi casually slipped his hand into his pocket to grasp the small box he'd placed there. He'd planned on asking her right away, but maybe there was something to the idea of waiting until midnight…

**···**

Yugi was feeling distinctly dull as he leaned against the wall next to Téa as she was laughing along with some of her friends from the chorus. The party seemed to be made up of the cast and other acting friends, all of whom seemed to be overwhelmingly talented. They'd begun singing holiday carols in loud, tuneful voices whereas Yugi couldn't carry a note. Then they'd cleared the room of furniture and began dancing, and he had two left feet. Once they'd broken out the alcohol, he'd veered off to the side and simply watched Téa have a good time.

He was having an attack of nerves, and the nerves only increased upon comparing the more theatrical men's talents to his own. If he'd been able to talk with the others, he had a feeling that his dual professions in archaeology and card-playing would hardly be viewed as interesting.

_I sure wish you were here, Yami,_ he thought, _I could use some of your encouragement right now_.

But Yami was at peace in the Afterlife now, and they were unable to communicate as they once did. Still, Yugi could feel confidence growing within him from some source, and managed a genuine smile as he gripped the box tightly.

It was two minutes until midnight, and couples had formed in front of the TV. It looked as though Téa's friend had had success; she had one of the boy's arms around her waist. Yugi sought out his girlfriend and pulled her a little way from the rest of the party. Her eyes lit up as she saw him and easily followed him to one of the windows of the apartment. Yugi looked outside at the swiftly falling snow and took a deep breath to steady himself.

"_What's up, Yugi?_" She asked brightly.

"_Téa_," he began, and her ears quickly perked up at the seriousness of his tone, "_there's something important I need to ask you._"

The partygoers had begun counting down the seconds, but the couple was oblivious. "_What is it?_"

Yugi took another deep breath. "_Téa, we've been through a lot together, and I don't know how I could've gotten through it without you being there for me. Besides,_" his face turned red, "_I knew that I cared for you more than just as a friend for a long time, and I was so happy when you told me you felt the same…_"

"Twenty-eight, twenty-seven, twenty-six…"

"_I guess what I'm trying to say is,_" he got down on one knee, pulling the box from his pocket and opening it to reveal a glittering diamond ring, "_Téa Gardner, will you marry me?_"

"Five, four, three, two – "

"_Yes!_" Téa squealed so loudly that her voice could be heard over the crowd cheering in the new year, and jumped into his arms when he stood up to put the ring on her finger.

Yugi, for his part, couldn't stop smiling, and when she kissed him he responded thoroughly, wrapping his arms around her waist as confetti rained down around them. As they broke apart, several of Téa's friends ran over, Melissa and Jacqueline at the front.

"Are you okay, Téa?" Melissa asked, "I heard screaming…"

Téa simply held out her hand in answer, and Yugi backed off in time to let the girls swarm around his fiancé, chattering excitedly. When the clamor had tapered down to a murmur, Yugi heard one of the girls breathe, "Tea, you are so lucky – he looks like a great guy."

Yugi walked over to Téa, putting his arm around her shoulders and kissing her temple. Then he turned to the girls and grinned as he said, without a trace of an accent, "Thank you. Please be sure to remind her of that while I'm gone – I wouldn't want her to change her mind."

All of the girls looked shocked, but the jaws of Melissa and Jacqueline nearly scraped the floor. "He speaks English?" Melissa blurted out, "And you let us say all that stuff…"

Jacqueline covered her beet-red face with her hands. "Oh, no."

Téa tried to glare at her fiancé for getting her into this mess, but he'd already been swept away by the guys at the party who were heartily slapping him on the back in congratulations, feeling better about approaching him now that they spoke the same language.

Yugi looked over at Téa fielding both indignation and excitement from her friends and smiled affectionately at her. There was something to be said about that tradition after all.

This was going to be a good year.

* * *

A/N: Oddly enough, the biggest reason I wanted to write this was because of the interchange between Téa and her friends once they realized that Yugi spoke English. That scene has been in my head for a while, and I was glad to finally write a story that it would fit in.

Anyway, thanks for reading and please review (they make me happy!)

Happy New Year!


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